Psychology

A career development theory provides counselors with insights into what is believed to be true about the career development process. The theory most compatible with professional practice of career counseling is person-centered theory or client-centered theory. In the earlier phases of career counseling, trait and factor theory with Parsons vocational counseling paradigm of matching individual traits with requirements of occupation appears quite promising. However, their shortcomings soon become evident when people having single career goals and matching traits for the same, report dissatisfaction with their jobs after initial euphoric period. Trait theories do not take into account how interests and aptitudes change and grow causing personality changes and cannot be used as the sole foundation of career counseling. Approach to counseling must be widened to include the demands that work environment can make on people with a view to ensure stability and satisfaction in job. The person-centered theory helps achieve the objective. The theory aims at establishing an interactive and egalitarian relationship between the client and the counselor and encourages cultivation of attitudes and behaviors that promote the process of self-actualization. The counselor practicing this theory must first learn to experience and express three core conditions namely, congruence, unconditional positive regard for the client and empathetic understanding of the clients internal frame of reference. These core conditions are difficult to achieve and can interfere with ones effectiveness as a counselor, delaying the stage where the client becomes a self-actualizing individual. However,  imbibing the basics behind these core principles helps to better understand one self and the psychology of others and leads to effective resolution of problems that distract during work, whether his own or those of the clients. As these core values deepen, one can engage in meaningful conversations with even the most rigid clients. The person centered theory, thus,  enables the counselor grow and mature, both personally and professionally, enabling him to transform the clients from defensive, change resistant individuals to self-actualizing people, not only in the context of work but life in general ensuring career growth and development for both the client and the counselor.
   
The theory that is least compatible with professional practice is addiction counseling. The same conflicts with several core issues of the person-centered approach. Firstly, the counseling approach is judgmental in nature unlike the latter. Even though the client is consulted every step of the way, the counselor primarily decides on the best course of action for the client. Conversely, the client is the best judge of solutions to his problems. Secondly, motivation interviewing, commonly employed by addiction counselors, is a directive interviewing technique in conflict with non-directive methods of person centered therapy. Further, the assessment phase of the theory consumes significant time, while equally or more effective results can be achieved by promoting clients self-actualization. This not only cures the addiction but also equips him to more effectively handle other problems that arise in life. Addictive counseling aims to lead the client whereas a better approach involves providing clients with a support system that will allow them to be their own leaders and make valued decisions. Therefore, addiction counseling is not suitable for career counseling and development.

This is a research paper that looks in detail at the subject of memory for temporal order. Here we will look at what temporal order is and the factors that influence it. We are also going to look at the other activities that involve the mind i.e. intention, memory and vision. This is an important research because it explains why some people behave the way they do in terms of memory and helps psychologists to establish what the best course of action is. Additionally it will highlight on the role of the medial prefrontal cortex and cortex perirhinal, the role of passage of time and how it affects memory and the involvement of some parts of the body in matters to do with memory. I would also like to establish whether age and maturity influences the memory capacity of an individual. Alongside this, I intend to find out whether sleep alters the memory capacity in any way. In conducting this research, I will be using both primary and secondary sources.

For the primary sources, I will be using questionnaires for samples of people categorized under various age groups. I will interview them and the results that I get will represent the whole population of people from within the respective age groups. In this regard I will use 10 questionnaires whereby two questionnaires will be used by age bracket i.e. that of 11-20year olds, 21-30 year olds, 31-40 year olds, 41-50 year olds and 51-60 year olds. The people under this age brackets will be interviewed in regard to their health, how they feel about life and also how busy they are. As for the secondary source, I will majorly use works by other writers like Drosopoulos et al whose title of the  paper he wrote is Sleep Enforces the Temporal Order in Memory.

To start with is the definition of memory temporal order which is the sequence of arrangement of information. There are two ways of looking at memory, the first is the object being remembered and secondly the action itself. Mental events and the amount of time between them is what create the temporal aspect of memory. When there is an intention to do something the intentional object is not yet actualized, while in memory or in the act of remembering the object of intention has already been actualized.  Vision is also another aspect of the mind which involves some parts of the body. It is about the neural circuitry, corcels in the retina of the eye and the aspects of the environment in case of color perception. Whereas visual perceptions can only be explained by the physical dimensions surrounding the object, memory on the contrary is explained by the temporal gap.

Memory can either be semantic or episodic. Semantic memory is whereby we remember what we have gone through mentally e.g. desires or hallucinations while episodic memory is where we remember things that have happened to us. What brings the difference between semantic and episodic memory is the manner of storage of the object of memory or what aspect of the object is encoded.

Findings from studies carried out on the role of the perirhinal cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex suggest that both of these organs, through some kind of interaction, are useful in the retrieval of information that is useful in the temporal order memory of long term objects. Further the studies imply that only the perirhinal cortex contributes to retrieval of information necessary for long-term object recognition. Another organ that affects memory is the hiccompus.The Hippocampus influences the manner in which information is stored and the sequence that is followed. Elements in the sequence are bound together in heteroassociative networks so that an individual is able to remember events as they happen. Without this part of the body an individual cannot be able to remember the things that happen immediately, he can only remember the things that happened a long time ago before the hippocampus was destroyed.

This explains why some accident victims with head injuries are not able to remember things that are happening to them seconds and minutes away from the time of the accident, and yet can remember things that happen long before the accident since by then the hippocampus was in perfect shape.
Advancement of age and maturity definitely comes with such problems as memory difficulties which can be as a result of the altering of either short-term or long-term memory storage. According to, age related changes do not make the dimensions of short-term memory to be equally vulnerable. Vulnerability of source memory also increases with age and more specifically short-term memory.

For this paper I used the APA(American Psychological Association) format for both in text referencing as the bibliography. This is for the purposes of supporting the contents of this paper. In APA referencing, I made sure that the page numbers are on the top right of the pages and next to the page numbers I included a title or page header. The first page has information of the author that is the name and institution, the name of the instructor and the class. This referencing assists me to give credit to those authors whose works I used and will help the reader with further reference.  Citing in the text required that add the authors name then the year of publication in brackets. As for the Bibliography the list of names of authors are arranged in alphabetical order.

Lawrence Kohlberg is often considered the man that started the study of the concept of moral reasoning in a cognitive way instead of just behaviorally.  He based his theory and studies on the two stages of Paiget (Crain, 1985), but grew more detailed and through studies in the United States, Mexico, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Turkey, he showed that the theory was not just American, but could be used cross-culturally to understand the development of moral reasoning in all humans from early childhood to adulthood (Windsor  Lower, 1982).  For Kohlberg moral reasoning development was imperative to moral behavior development.

From his studies he created a system of three levels with two stages represented in each level.  The moral reasoning flows continually forward passing through each stage. Through these levels and stages he explained the human development of moral reasoning (Crain, 1985 Daeg de Mott, 1998 Dawson, 2002 Haaften, 2007 Jorgensen, 2006  McDevitt  Ormrod, 2007 Nucci, 2008 Winsor  Lower, 1982).

Level One
The first level is called the pre-conventional level and is usually associated with preschool and elementary aged children.  The judgment in this level is based on an individualistic point of view.  The actions are not as important as the consequences.  Therefore Stages 1 and 2 are founded the in egocentric perspective (Crain, 1985 Daeg de Mott, 1998 Haaften, 2007 Jorgensen, 2006  McDevitt  Ormrod, 2007 Nucci, 2008 Winsor  Lower, 1982). Charlie is our character that is just entering Level One of moral reasoning development and will pass through both stages, before reaching Level Two.

Stage 1
Stage 1 is called the avoidance and obedience level in that the actions are associated directly with the consequences.  This is usually found in preschool children.  They learn to obey the rules that are put forth by the authority figures in their live, such as parent, relatives, and teachers (Crain, 1985 Haaften, 2007 Jorgensen, 2006 McDevitt  Ormrod, 2007 Nucci, 2008 Winsor  Lower, 1982).  In this instance, Charlie has just started day care, and his teachers are teaching him what is expected in the group setting.  He is told that if he talks during the reading circle he would be put in time out.  Therefore, Charlie does not talk during reading circle, however, if he deems that he can whisper to a friend and not get caught he may try it.  This is Stage 1, acting in relation to consequences.

Stage 2
Stage 2 is known as the Ill scratch your back, if you scratch mine stage the exchange of favors and the focus on satisfying individual needs by any means.  This group is usually elementary and middle school aged children.  The foundation of the moral reasoning is still very much individualistic, however, there is an understanding that anothers need may have to be met to have the individuals need met.  It is the stage of give and take (Crain, 1985 Haaften, 2007 Jorgensen, 2006 McDevitt  Ormrod, 2007 Nucci, 2008 Winsor  Lower, 1982).  Charlie wants to go out and play with his friends.  His mother wants him to clean his room.  He knows that if he does not clean the room he will be in trouble.  Therefore, Charlie works it out with his mother that if he cleans his room he can go out with his friends.  She agrees.  They both get their way in the end.

Level 2
Level Two is the Conventional Level and is the level that is inhabited by most people.  From early middle school through adulthood, most people remain in this level at Stage 4.  The level is starting point for the understanding of the obedience of laws and rules to keep society intact.  It is an understanding of a regulated world rather than chaos (Crain, 1985 Daeg de Mott, 1998 Haaften, 2007 Jorgensen, 2006 McDevitt  Ormrod, 2007 Nucci, 2008 Winsor  Lower, 1982).  Charlie in this level begins to look outside of his own individual needs to look more at the needs of his world, his community, friend, and relatives.  It is not about working for the larger picture any further than outside the sphere of reference.

Stage 3
This stage represents the ideas of being good.  The individual will act in accordance to expectations that represent obeying and being good.  This is also the time that outside relationships become important, in regards to trust, loyalty, and friendship (Crain, 1985 Haaften, 2007 Jorgensen, 2006 McDevitt  Ormrod, 2007 Nucci, 2008 Winsor  Lower, 1982).  Charlie knows that he needs to get As and Bs in school to make his parents proud.  Therefore, he works extra hard to ensure that his parents are proud of his actions.  However, he must also contend with his friends, and therefore participates in baseball and soccer outside of school.  He ensures he makes everyone around him proud of his actions.

Stage 4
This is the stage of law and order, where the individual looks to the world and the bigger picture to understand the rules and norms of society.  The society must be regulated to run efficiently and it is up to each person as an individual to take responsibility for their actions and make the society a good place in which to live (Crain, 1985 Haaften, 2007 Jorgensen, 2006 McDevitt  Ormrod, 2007 Nucci, 2008 Winsor  Lower, 1982).  Charlie is only 17 years old at this point, but some of his friends have bought some beer and what him to come drink with them.  Charlie knows that he is underage, and not only can in trouble with his parents, but with the police and judicial system as well.  He knows it is his responsibility to act in a mature fashion and thereby decline the offer.

Level Three
This is the last level and is the level that is the most controversial.  Level Three is called the post-conventional level because it is based on the universal principle of life.  The rights of human outweigh the laws of the people.  This type of abstract thinking includes the social contract that creates the society and the concepts regarding rights of every human.  This is the level in which civil disobedience can be found (Crain, 1985 Daeg de Mott, 1998 Dawson, 2002 Haaften, 2007 Jorgensen, 2006 McDevitt  Ormrod, 2007 Nucci, 2008 Winsor  Lower, 1982).  Charlie looks at the world outside of itself and makes decisions based on what he feels is right and not what he is told is right.

Stage 5
The social contract is the basis of stage 5.  Many adults touch here but are not consistently in this stage.  They never truly make the leap from stage 4 to stage 5.   The premise is that the values of the society should be upheld.  The view has grown from community to State or national levels.  What is important is not just the community but the nation as a whole (Crain, 1985 Haaften, 2007 Jorgensen, 2006 McDevitt  Ormrod, 2007 Nucci, 2008 Winsor  Lower, 1982).  Charlie believes that gay marriage should be allowed in his State, but is not willing to go out on a limb to try to get it passed.  He believes in it, but will not disobey, nor will he tell others to disobey the law.

Stage 6
This stage focuses on abstract moral ideals that are above the law known to the people.  This is the stage that very few people ever reach.  They may touch the border, but few are willing to step over the line and live for the universal law rather than the human law (Crain, 1985 Dawson, 2002 Haaften, 2007 Jorgensen, 2006 McDevitt  Ormrod, 2007 Nucci, 2008 Winsor  Lower, 1982).  Charlie just found out that his cousin was denied being married to his partner.  His cousin and partner were married in another State, but the State in which they live refuses to acknowledge the union.  There is a group of university students that want to make this outrage public and decide to have a march.
Charlie is one of the first to sign up.  They plan on stopping traffic in front of the State Capitol, even though they know they are likely to get arrested.  It is not about themselves, but the right to allow everyone to have a partnership through marriage.

Conclusion
From these levels and stages, one can see the moral reasoning developing. Even though Stages 5 and 6 are more theoretical than reality, there is still some truth and some basis for the theory.  Just as the stages of physical development, the cognitive moral reasoning develops to, and Kohlberg has given a theory and measures to explain the development and the outcomes of the moral growth in humanity.

Four main goals of psychology include the portrayal of a behavior, explanation of the occurrence of these demeanors, prediction of the future events in relation to these behaviors and the last goal is brining changes in these behaviors and the associated mental processes.

In the year of 1911, the father of psychology, Wilhelm Wundt believed that in the modern days, the four main goals of psychology are no longer helpful for the humanity. All of the experiments that have been conducted by him conclude the fact that the human being is composed of flesh, blood as well as bones. These three things are physiological thereby the human behaviors are controlled by their physiology. Referring to the goals of humanity that have been laid down by the psychologists, they can be helpful for the human beings but they can also hurt the humanity. This is the fact that has been explicated by Wilhelm Wundt. He believed in experimental psychology and his studies have helped many oppressive governments to gain control over there people.

There have been currently no findings that can suggest the physical reasons of the origination of depression and insanity. Still there are many diseases that are being studied by the psychologists and these diseases have been explained by using many phrases and the psychologists try to use the scientific sounding phrases so as to build on to the solutions of these behaviors. For instance, Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is a kind of the chemical imbalance in the body, and the individuals thereby have lesser attention towards many tasks. If the patient suffering from ADHD goes to the psychologist, it is said to the patients that the disorder can be only corrected by using a certain medicine. The righteous patient can put a question to the psychologist asking about the chemical that is imbalanced, resulting in the particular condition, to which the psychologist has no answer but responds by adding that the queries are just, but at the moment he is only sure of the presence of the chemical imbalance. In addition, the chemical is not known yet although the studies are being conducted.

Thereby the idea of a patient regarding a psychologist being a scientist is truly falsified leading the patient to believe that he has been believing on the false truth. The patient in a perplexing situation himself, starts to recommend for the best possible examination of the condition and to discover the truth thereby the patient may ask for an EEG and in this case, the psychologist unexpectedly has to agree to the fact that the patient is curios regarding the reason of illness so the psychologist agrees for an EEG examination. The EEG examination is an example and a recommendation for a second opinion and here it has to be seen that the patient himself has given the opinion but here the psychologist says that the disease is undeniably there but the additional examination is no issue.

The case here can be summarized by saying that the patient is curious because he knows in his soul and his heart that the condition at the present that he has, does not allow him to concentrate on the lessons that may seem boring to the patient and this is the situation that cannot be regarded as an illness by the patient. The patient in this case is sure that the concentration that was required for the particular task was too low of a level. The patient is sure by now that the non conformity has been leading him into troubles and he is not ready to accept the fact that the lower concentration is an illness thereby questioning the psychologist, who he has been trusting as an erudite scientist, comes next. The patient is not ready to accept the diagnosis that has been given to him in the form of an illness that is referred as a chemical imbalance with a set of pills, which according to the psychologist can cure the condition of the patient thus improving the concentration levels.

Conclusion
As a conclusion here, it can be said that the four goals of humanity have been made in order to understand the occurrences of any abnormal behaviors in the human beings, to learn about the best reasons underlying the situations, and to find the cures. But on the other hand, there are conditions to which the psychologist still have no answers and these unanswered questions confuse the inflicted ones as there are no answers to the questions that the inflicted ones have thus hurting the humanity that very much depends on the erudite ones.

The foundation of career counseling in the United States remains to be an essential component shaping the development and growth of careers within the country. Not only has it brought about new dimensions to the field of labor but it has also diversified the process wherein individuals and groups came to be represented. By carefully understanding the issues that have shaped this formal process, better insights can be gained on its capacity to induce and provide responsiveness to the changing environment.

One important even that I believe remained to be essential in changing the direction of career counseling would be the foundation of the Internet. With such expansion during the late 90s, it has brought about increased openness among professionals and patients. These then served as a cultivating component that forever changed the way people view and understand career counseling. The processes associated with recruitment, study, and statistics became readily available to whoever wishes for it to be seen.

However, the drawback of this shift revolves around the redirecting of conventional methods towards career counseling. It can be seen that there is now a direction towards finding the appropriate strategies and methods related to the process that professionals have to bear in mind (American Counseling Association, 2010). Not to mention the additional training to increase skills and competency to handle the process.

Another aspect that is vital to the change of career counseling would be the post 911 attacks. Since the dawn of this tragedy, career counseling professionals have made a new approach in handling and addressing the capabilities among individuals. It took into consideration other related factors that shapes and improves the processes associated with its development. In essence, the value on how employments are assessed, develop and created is taken into consideration especially with the threats to the countrys security.

The drawback of these rethinking remained focused on the inequality and prejudice that has happened after post 911. The trauma of the violence created new directions on how employment and jobs are assessed. It now became an important consideration for many especially those who remain resentful to what happened in New York and other parts of the US. It then resulted to reorganizing and rethinking what steps could be made possible to prevent such occurrences especially a few years after the tragedy.

Reflecting on the relevance and essence of career counseling, at first glance, it can be seen that the associated responsibilities of a career counselor revolve around its capacity to induce new directions and serve as a guide for individuals who seek to identify what career they best fit into. In here, they seek to carry out particular tasks in measuring and creating tests to determine skill competency and how each one best facilitates the needs of individuals in making the right decision according to number of factors such as education, experience and skills.

Operating on this perspective, it can also be seen that the function of career counselors seeks to identify changes in patterns within society. In particular, they seek to look into trends that can provide understanding on how the value and relevance of change within the profession becomes evident with the changing trends in society and its associated responsibilities. Due to this, career counselors are given the responsibility to ensure that proper coordination and studies be made according to these trends and function on how to address these issues and challenges accordingly.

On the other hand, contrasting these with the work of a mental health counselor, it can be seen that each one showcases differences in terms of its application and scope. While career counselors look into the development and study of the trends towards occupation and professions, a mental health counselor applies the principles of psychotherapy, human development, learning theory, group dynamics, and the etiology of mental illness and dysfunctional behavior to individuals, couples, families, and groups.

Seeing this, they are more focused on establishing the appropriate parameters in finding possible cure towards behavioral problems and offering new directions for peoplegroups who seek psychological attention. It is through such analogy that the facilitation of career counseling is more focused on the aspect of professions while a mental health counselor is more dynamic and broad in its coverage and application.

Week One
This week we focused on the anatomy and physiology of the Central Nervous System and Human Consciousness.  The class on the central nervous system (CNS) focused on why and how the CNS works. We learned that the nervous system is divided into three major parts The Central Nervous System has two major anatomical aspects, the brain and the spinal cord. The CNS is responsible for many of the basic voluntary and involuntary functions of the body including, breathing, controlling circulation and body temperature and consciousness.

The anatomy and function of the CNS are critical to the study of Physiological Psychology since, the main goal of the course is to understand how the physiological affects the psychological. For instance, how our brain function affects our behavior. This is specifically important in terms of studying certain disorders such as depression, or anorexia that can affect both physical and psychological health.

The study of the CNS is important in several different ways. First, on the personal level, if one understands how the CNS works, I may be aware of a situation whereby my CNS is not working properly. This may make me more likely to seek medical or psychological care to determine if something has gone wrong. In terms of individuals at the community level, understanding how the CNS works is important in terms of understanding certain psychological problems that linked to the function of the CNS such as ADHD, or Schizophrenia, understanding leads to tolerance of the mentally ill.

In terms of my professional life, understanding how the CNS system works is critical in the field of psychology because often emotional problems have physical sources that may be rooted in the CNS. By having knowledge of how the CNS works, I will be able to refer clients to Neurologists, or other medical professionals who may be better suited to helping a client deal with a CNS based psychological problem than I will be.

The class also studied Consciousness in this weeks class discussion. Consciousness can be described as awareness of ones self or others. Consciousness is critical in the study of Physiological Psychology because there are certain health conditions or brain impairments such as Catatonia that are often treated as psychological disorders, but, also may involve physiological issues that are affecting ones ability to retain consciousness. Understanding, consciousness is also important in understanding conscious behaviors, for example, choosing to eat a bagel for breakfast, and unconscious behaviors such as snoring. What, specifically, consciousness is, is a subject of great debate amongst psychologists however physiological psychology has been useful in terms of pinpointing differences in brain activity between the conscious, waking mind, and the unconscious mind.

In terms of how understanding consciousness influences me at the personal level, it has made me focus more on the world around me. Given the number of psychological and physiological illnesses that can affect consciousness, there is no knowing if you might someday suffer an illness or injury that could reduce your awareness of the world around you. In terms of how consciousness affects the individual in the community, understanding consciousness is important in terms of understanding basic human behavior. Finally, at the professional level, my having an understanding of consciousness is critical because it plays an important role in my understanding of psychological problems and how to treat them.

Week Two Psychopharmacology and Neurochemical Methods
In this weeks first class we focused on psychopharmacology. This is the study of how various drugs and chemicals can affect human consciousness and behavior. We learned that certain drugs like MAO Inhibitors can play a powerful role in the control of psychological disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, because these problems may involve levels of neurotransmitters that are either to high, or to low. Drugs can be used to alter these neurotransmitter levels in order to stabilize the behavior of someone suffering from one of these problems, in order to allow them to function as close to normally as is possible.

On the personal level understanding psychopharmacology is important in terms of understanding how certain drugs and chemicals can affect my brain chemistry and my behavior. This will help me to avoid misusing prescription medications, and to understand why certain drugs are necessary if I am suffering from certain psychological problems. In terms of the individual within the community an understanding of psychopharmacology is important in terms of understanding why certain medications are prescribed. Finally, in terms of my professional career, understanding psychopharmacology and how certain drugs can affect neurotransmitters is critical in terms of how I will treat my clients. I need to be aware of these issues so that I understand when a psychological problem requires drug treatment in comparison to when they need less invasive treatment methods.

The second class of the week focused mainly upon Neurochemical Methods. These are techniques that are used to assess the presence or absence of specific neurotransmitters in the human body. These methods include PET scans, MRI scans and other techniques used to measure the presence of neurotransmitters in the body. Understanding how to measure these neurotransmitters is important in that in order to determine if someone is suffering from a psychological problem caused by the presence or absence of those neurotransmitters one needs methods that techniques that allow us to detect them adequately.

In terms of personal understanding on this topic, understanding Neurochemical Methods is important in regards to understanding how and why they look for the presence of certain neurotransmitters when one is undergoing medical tests. The presence or absence of these neurotransmitters could indicate serious illness, but as a patient it is critical to understand how and why medical professionals look for certain things during medical tests. As an individual within the wider community understanding Neurochemical Methods can be helpful in understanding health issues in the greater community. Finally, in terms of my professional career this information is critical because in order to be able to assist people with physiologically based psychological problems one must first understand how such problems are diagnosed and measured.

Week 3 Sleep Disorders and Olfaction
There are many different types of sleep disorders. These include, Sleep Apnea, Insomnia, Restless Legs Disorder, Narcolepsy, Sleep Walking, Night Terrors, and Sleep Related Eating Disorders. These disorders typically involve a disturbance of  the normal pattern of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep. This can occur for many different reasons including , physical or psychological trauma, stress,  a disturbance of ones normal sleep schedule in terms of work, family or school responsibilities, or physical illness. Sleep disorders can result in chronic fatigue, depression, and irritability. Understanding sleep disorders is important in terms of understanding how sleep or lack thereof can affect and influence our behavior.

In terms of personal knowledge, understanding what sleep disorders are, the symptomology, and how they are treated will be useful in terms of  knowing what to do if I ever develop a sleep disorder. In terms of the individual within the community it is critical to understand sleep disorders because awareness is key in terms of taking care of ones health and getting treatment for health problems as they arise. Finally, understanding the differences between the symptoms of sleep disorders and other psychological problems is important in that a clinical psychologist or a psychiatrist should be able to adequately differentiate between problems related to sleep disorders, and problems related to other mental health problems.

The second half of this weeks class covered olfaction. Olfaction is the sense of smell and has several physiological and psychological components. First, air carries molecules called odorants. These are picked up by sensory receptors in the olfactory region of the brain. The sensory receptors than process the information gained from these odorants and tell the brain, what the smell is, where it is coming from, and whether or not it is a good or a bad smell. The major parts of the Olfactory Region include, the Olfactory Tract, the Olfactory Nerve and the Olfactory Bulb. Each one plays a specific role in sensing smells. Smell can tell us a great deal about our environment and the world around us. For instance, smelling something that our brain defines as bad it could indicate an environmental poison in the air, or spoiling food that we should not eat. Understanding how the sense of smell is important in the field of physiological psychology because the study of the senses including olfaction can tell us a great deal about how the brain works.

In terms of my personal life understanding how olfaction works can be very informative in terms of telling me when food has spoiled or if there are chemical spills or environmental toxins in my vicinity. In terms of the individual in the community, the understanding of olfaction can be useful in terms of understanding when there are potential environmental hazards in the area, or understanding food safety issues. Finally, as a professional it is important for me to understand olfaction, because, there are certain mental disorders that can involve olfactory hallucinations e.g. smelling things that are not present in the environment.

Week 4 Eating Disorders and Emotions as Response Patterns
There are several different types of eating disorders including, anorexia, bulimia, and overeating. Each of these disorders affects how a person perceives their physical appearance and how they respond to food.  From a physiological perspective food is seen by the brain as a negative stimuli that evokes a negative response in a person causing them to either eat to much (binge eating or overeating), or to little (the binging and purging associated with bulimia and the lack of eating associated with anorexia)

Eating disorders can affect me on the personal level because I live in a society that is obsessed with physical appearance and physical attractiveness. It would be just as easy for me, as it is for anyone else to slip into a pattern whereby I developed an eating disorder. Being aware of how eating disorders develop, and what causes them can help me to monitor myself for problems. In terms of the individual within the greater community understanding eating disorders is critical in the sense that understanding eating disorders allows parents to seek help for children who might be having problems with an eating disorder, or this knowledge can be used to encourage those with eating disorders to seek help. In terms of my own professional development understanding eating disorders in critical in terms of how best to respond to clients in need.

Emotions are also a serious issue in the field of physiological psychology. Emotions, can be described  the response patterns demonstrated as a reaction to specific stimuli These patterns develop over time and can include, happiness, sadness, anger, jealousy, grief and other emotions. Anger, aggression and impulse control are more commonly studied by physiological psychologists because they are the most closely linked to a specific area of the brain, specific stimuli and are likely to be involved in the presence of specific psychological problems such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder or ADHD.

Understanding issues like anger, aggression, and impulse control is critical in terms of my own personal understanding simply due to awareness that if I start developing issues with one of these areas there may be a problem developing. In terms of the greater community understanding these emotional issues is critical because it helps us to understand misbehavior and acting out by community members. It is not expected that individuals in the community tolerate this behavior, simply that they make the attempt to understand it. Finally, understanding, aggression, anger and impulse control issues is important to me in terms of professional development because many clients may initially present themselves to me with these problems.